Stoker mechanism



w. T. HANNA STOKER MECHANISM March 5, 1940.

Original Filed April 2a, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR William THanna March 1940- w. 'r. HANNA 2,192,

S'IOKER' MECHANISM Original Filed April 28, 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR William T- ]ian not BY W \L/GM ATTORNEYS Patented Mar. 5, 1940 s'roxaa MECHANISM William Thompson Hanna, Cincinnati, Ohio Application April 28, 1934, Serial No. 722,834 Renewed June 4, 1938 7 Claims.

This invention relates to stoking apparatus and more particularly to the fuel distributing apparatus generally located immediately adjacent the point of fuel delivery to the usual fire box.

5 One of the objects of this invention is to provide fuel distributing apparatus which will be simple,

practical and thoroughly durable. Another object is to provide apparatus of the above character which may be easily manufactured with a 10 minimum amount of labor and with inexpensive material. Another object is to provide apparatus of the above character which may be easily installed in a fire box without any radical changes in standard constructions of such box. Another 1 object is to provide apparatus of the above character which may be utilized in fire boxes having variable characteristics of structure and size. Another object is to provide apparatus of the above character which will distribute a quantity of fuel evenly on all portions of a fire bed in a reliable manner. Another object is to provide apparatus of the above character which will distribute a mass of fuel, variable in size and quality, evenly on all portions of a fire bed. Another ob- 25 ject is to provide apparatus of the above character utilizing a motive force capable in itself of aiding combustion. Another object is to provide apparatus of the above character which will bring fuel into contact with the combustion area of a 30 fire box and prevent any tendency of the fuel to be drawn up the flue before burning. Another object is to provide apparatus of the above character which will discharge sheets of steam into the fire box under controlled pressures. Other ob- 85 jects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

This application is a continuation in part of my co-pending application, Serial No. 679,548, filed July 8, 1933. The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combinations of elements,

and arrangements of parts as will be exemplified in the structure to be hereinafter described, and

y the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which is shown one of the various possible embodiments of this invention,

50 Figure l is a front elevational view of my apparatus as installed in a fire box and ready for operation;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the steam projecting portion of my apparatus with the bottom cover plate thereof removed;

Figure 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line L-A of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken along 5 the line 5-5 of Figure 2 the parts of the firing opening being omitted;

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line 5-6 of Figure 2, and

Figure 7 is a vertical sectional view taken along 10 the line 1-1 of Figure 2.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawmgs.

As conducive to a clearer understanding of 5 certain features of this invention, several dimculties met with in the successful operation of staking apparatus might be mentioned here. The coal burned by locomotives or the like is rather heterogeneous in character usually comprising particles varying in size from powder to large lumps of considerable dimensions. Various devices have been used in conjunction with the stoking apparatus to crush the large particles, but the coal as it arrives at the fire box opening still includes individual particles of a variety of sizes. Considerable difliculty has thus been experienced in attempting to devise apparatus which will successfully distribute these particles of various dimensions evenly to all parts of the fire bed. If the distribution achieved is uneven, the eificiency of the resultant fire is materially reduced, sometimes even to the point of inoperativeness. It will thus be apparent that it is highly desirable when utilizing a distributing device making use of the sheets of fluid under pressure, such as steam, that the pressure of such sheets be regulated and controlled. Prior devices of this character such as those now in use produce sheets of steam or the like which sometimes vary in pressure and the result is an uneven distribution of the coal or the like about the fire bed. One of the objects of this invention is to provide an apparatus in which the several difliculties hereinabove mentioned as well' as many others are successfully and efiiciently overcome.

Referring now to Figure 1, there is generally indicated at I 9 a blast deviceforming a part of my fuel distributing apparatus. This device I 9 is preferably supported by way of arms II and I2 pivotally connected to a pair of pipes l4 and IS in communication with passageways l6 and I1 formed therein for a purpose to be more fully described hereinafter. Furthermore the top edge Illa of device III is preferably fiush with the botin device Ill.

tom or spillway 2i of the mouth of a feeding apparatus generally indicated at 22 (Figure 2). Accordingly coal entering over spillway 2| is deposited on the top of the blast device without impediment.

Device i0 is provided with a plurality of hollow fingers generally indicated at I8 preferably lying in the same plane and arranged in substantially fan shaped order. The axes of openings l8a (Figure 1) in fingers iii are substantially parallel to the fire bed and consequently when steam or the like is forced through the fingers under pressure they serve to create a sheet of steam over the fire box and substantially parallel thereto as will be described more fully hereinafter. The front surface I9 of device I0 is preferably are shaped, as best shown in Figure 2, and has formed therein a longitudinal slot 20 substantially equal in length to the distance between the end fingers. As will be more fully described hereinafter, the top and bottom sides of slot 20 are substantially horizontal; thus when steam under pressure is forced through the slot the result is a substantially horizontal sheet of steam over the fire box spaced below the sheet created by fingers IS.

A distributor plate generally indicated at 23 is located below device ill and supported in this position in any suitable manner. As best shown in Figure 2, plate 23 extends from a position beneath device ill to a point a considerable distance in front of fingers IS. The top surface of plate 23 (Figures 1 and 6) slopes downwardly as do the top surfaces Nb of fingers i3. Accordingly coal comprising a heterogeneous mass of particles passes over spillway 2i and down upon the tops of fingers It. The smaller particles drop down between the fingers upon plate 23 or, before reaching the plate, come into contact with the sheet of steam rushing from slot 20 by which they are impelled to various parts of the fire bed. The larger particles of coal roll down the sloping sides of the fingers until they come in contact with steam travelling at high velocity from fingers i8 and with sufiicient force to drive these particles to various parts of the fire bed.

It is important to supply the back corners of the fire bed with fuel, 1. e. those corners lying on the left and right hand sides of the distributing apparatus. Accordingly I prefer to provide plate 23 with a pair of channels 24 and 25 opening into the sides of plate 23 and extending to points in alignment with holes 26 and 21 (Figure 1) As will be more fully described hereinafter, holes 26 and 21 communicate with a source of steam under pressure and serve to direct spouts of steam running along channels 24 and 25. Accordingly coal dropping upon the sides of plate 23 falls into channels 24 and 25 to be impelled in lateral directions by the jets of steam issuing from openings 26 and 21 to supply that portion of the fire bed in the vicinity of the back corners with adequate fuel requirements.

It will now be seen that when fingers i8, openings 26 and 27, and slot 20 are supplied with suffi-- cient quantities of steam under pressure, the coal dropping upon device ill from the feeding mechanism, no matter of what size, is efficiently and evenly distributed to all portions of the fire bed in a reliable and practical manner. Furthermore the sheets of steam issuing from fingers l8 and slot 20 are in planes substantially parallel to the fire bed, thus to force the coal out into the fire bed where it has ample opportunity to burn without being forced up the flue. As the top surface of plate 23 slopes away from the plane of the sheet of steam issuing from slot 23, there is no danger of direct contact therebetween; such contact might deflect the sheet of steam in an upward direction thus forcing particles of unburned fuel up the flue. Furthermore the passages 23 and 29, connecting openings 23 and 21 (Figure 4) with a source of steam under pressure, slope downwardly (Figure 7) so that the general direction of the spout of steam issuing therefrom is substantially parallel to the bottom of the channels. Accordingly steam is not deflected in upward directions from the channels to bring about the disadvantages noted above.

As noted above, the small particles of coal are forced out into the fire bed by the sheet of steam issuing from slot 20. These fine particles are most likely to be drawn up into the fiue previous to burning, However, by providing the sheet of steam issuing from fingers I8 immediately above the fine particles of coal, 9. blanketing action is effected which successfully prevents the passage of any of these small particles up the flue previous to burning.

Turning now to Figure 5, passageway i1 is connected by way of pipe i5 to a source of steam under high pressure and extends into a chamber 30 comprising the space adjacent the inner ends of fingers i8, as shown most clearly in Figure 4. Chamber 30 is largest in cross-section in the vicinity of its opening into passageway ll. From that point it gradually decreases in cross-sectional area (Figures 6 and '7) as it approaches the furthest fingers or the right hand fingers as viewed in Figure 4. This construction provides for an adequate supply of steam to each of the finger nozzles, and at the same time occupies a minimum of space.

Still referring to Figure 5, passageway It in arm i2 is connected to a source of steam under pressure by pipe Hi. This latter source of steam is preferably maintained'at a lower pressure than the source of steam connected to pipe 85. Passageway i6 is in turn connected with an upper chamber 3| (Figures 4 and 5) connected in turn to a compression chamber 32 by way of an opening 33. As will be clear from a consideration of Figures 5, 6 and 7, compression chamber 32 extends along the bottom portion of device l0 and is substantially equal in length to slot'2li. Immediately adjacent and in front of compression chamber 32 is a chamber 34 adjacent and connected with slot 20 and partially partitioned off from the compression chamber by a partition 35. The exact shape of chambers 32 and 33, as well as partition 35, is more clearly shown in Figure 3, and I prefer to form the top side 36 of slot 20, as best seen in this figure, with its central portion 36a of greater width than the opposite end portions thereof. The bottom of slot 20, as well as the bottoms of chambers 32 and 34, is formed by a cover plate 31 secured in this position in The cross-sectional area of slot 35a is preferably less than the cross-sectional area of passageway I6 or opening 33. Accordingly steam rushing through passageway I 6, chamber 3|, and thence into the compression chamber by way of opening 33 (Figure 5) is throttled and impeded in its forward progress by partition 35. In this manner the entire chamber 32 is kept approximately at the pressure existing at the source. This condition is maintained in spite of any irregularities which may occur in the cross-sectional area of chamber 32 due to imperfect casting. Thus the steam enters chamber 34 from slot 35a at a desired fiow which is uniform throughout the length of the-throttling slot 35a.

As pointed out above, the central portion 36a of the top side 36 of slot 20 is wider than the sides thereof. Thus greater frictional resistance is offered to the passage of steam through the slot throughout its central portion than at its sides. Under certain circumstances this is most desirable. Under certain other circumstances it might be more desirable to have a greater velocity of steam at the central portion of the slot than at the sides thereof. This is easily accomplished by making the central portion of the top side thereof narrower than the end portions of the top side of the slot. I can also predetermine the velocity of steam issuing at any particular portion of slot 20 by determining the position of partition 35. By moving the partition closer to slot 20 at any point, a greater velocity of steam is achieved at that point. These are all factors which may be determined in accordance with the peculiar structural requirements of each individual fire box. The adjustment when once made may be maintained permanently to achieve a maximum amount of efficiency.

The uniformity of the steam jet issuing from slot 20 is further insured by providing slot 20 with a smaller cross-sectional area than slot 35a. With this construction, the steam is further throttled, and this throttling causes a back pressure to be built up in chamber 3! much the same as that built up in'chamber 32 by slot 35a. Chambers 32 and 34 together with slots 35a and 20 act in series to counteract the effect of any irregularities in the size and shape of the blast chamber caused during casting, to insure a flow uniform throughout its length from the nozzle 20.

Passageways 28 and 29 (Figures 4 and 7) are in direct communication with compression chamber 32. Consequently, due to the even pressure maintained in the compression chamber 32, the jets of steam issuing from openings 2iand 21 (Figure 1) remain a constant in a manner substantially similar to the constant velocity of the steam at any point along slot 20.

It will now become clear that my apparatus insures a sheet of low pressure steam below the high pressure sheet of steam emanating from fingers I8, as described above, and that the velocity of the steam at any particular point on this low pressure sheet remains a constant at all times. In this manner the particles of coal which come in contact with this low pressure sheet of steam are impelled by a force just sufficient to carry them to the fire bed at some point along the path in which they are being forced. Accordingly the operation of my apparatus assures an even distribution of coal throughout the entire area of the fire bed and such even distribution continues during the entire operation of the apparatus. Not only are these advantageous and practical results assured, but, also, the extreme simplicity of construction which characterizes the entire apparatus assures reliability and efliciency.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a thoroughly practical and eflicient apparatus in which the several objects hereinabove mentioned as well as many others are successfully accomplished.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention and as many changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it is to be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth or shown in the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim:

1. In stoking apparatus, in combination, a fuel distributing device, a fire box, means for suspending said device within said fire box, said device having a longitudinal slot formed in its front side, and means forming a passagefor supplying steam to said slot, the top wall of said slot being wider at its central portion than at its sides.

2. In stoking apparatus, in combination, a firebox, a fuel distributing device having a longitudinal slot forming a steam jet, means for suspending said device within said firebox substantially adjacent the fuel delivery opening thereof and with the longitudinal slot facing into the firebox, means forming a chamber in said device for supplying steam to said slot, a ridge in'said chamber extending downwardly from the top thereof and extending coextensive with said slot but curving away from said slot at either end, the edge of said ridge being beveled in the direction of said slot.

3. As an article of manufacture a distributing device for a locomotive stoker for distributing over a firebox fuel fed thereto, said distributing device comprising a metal casting having a plurality of hollow fingers extending forwardly from the body of the casting in a fan shape, said casting having a chamber therein communicating with saidhollow fingers from within the casting for conductingsteam thereto and said casting having a recessed bottom, a cover plate for forming with said recessed bottom a low pressure chamber, a forward edge of said recessed bottom being machined to form with the cover plate an elongated steam jet slot, and said recessed bottom being provided with a machined downwardly extending ridge coextensive with said forward edge portion and beveled in the direction thereof to form with said cover plate a restriction to the flow of steam to said jet to aid in maintaining a uniform pressure along said jet.

4. A blast chamber device for distributing fuel by a steam jet over the firebed of a locomotive fire box, said blast chamber comprising a cast body portion having a fan array of hollow fingers projecting forwardly therefrom and having an elongated steam jet slot extending below said fingers and facing out into the fire box, said casting having separate chambers for supplying respectively said fingers and slotwith steam, the chamber supplying said slot communicating with a passage extending to the side of said body portion but entering said chamber at the central portion thereof, and said last named chamber having a restrictionthereacross in front of said slot and extending coextensively with said slot but curving away from said slot at either end and extending between the bottom and top walls of the chamber but not quite reaching one of &

them and having a beveled edge sloping in the direction of the slot.

5. As an article of manufacture, a distributing device for a locomotive stoker for distributing within a fire box fuel fed thereto, said distributing device comprising a metal casting having a plurality of hollow fingers extending from the body of the casting in fan shape, said casting having a high pressure steam chamber therein communicating with said hollow fingers from within the casting for conducting steam thereto, said casting having a recess formed on one side thereof, the upper wall of said recess having a centrally disposed orifice therein for the admission of steam thereto, a cover plate for forming with said recess a low pressure steam chamber, the upper wall of said recess and said cover plate forming top and bottom sides for said low pressure steam chamber, means forming a longitudinal slot in said low pressure steam chamber through which steam may flow from said low pressure chamber, and means forming a baflle in said low pressure chamber extending from one of said sides toward the other and disposed between said opening and said slot for so restricting the flow of steam to said slot that a uniform steam pressure exlsts in said low pressure chamber at the exit end of said slot.

6. In stoking apparatus, in combination, a fire box, a fuel distributing device having a longitudinal slot for emitting a jet of steam, means for suspending said device within said fire box substantially adjacent the fuel delivery opening thereof and with the longitudinal slot facing into the fire box, means forming a chamber in said device for supplying steam to said slot, said chamber having opposed sides, said chamber also having a centrally disposed downwardly directed opening in the rear portion thereof directed toward one of said sides through which steam may flow into said chamber against the other of said sides to spread out uniformly in said chamber substantially at right angles to its direction of flow through said opening, and means forming a baille in said chamber extending from one of said sides toward the other and disposed between said opening and said slot for so restricting the flow of steam to said slot that a uniform steam pressure exists in said chamber at the exit end of said slot.

7. As an article of manufacture, a distributing device for a locomotive stoker for distributing over a fire box fuel fed thereto, said distributing device comprising a metal casting having a plurality of hollow fingers extending forwardly from the body of the casting in fan shape, said casting having, a high pressure steam chamber therein communicating with said hollow fingers from within the casting for conducting steam thereto, said casting having a recess formed on the bottom thereof, a cover plate for forming with said recess a low pressure steam chamber, said low pressure steam chamber having opposed sides, a forward edge of said recess being machined to form with the forward edge of said cover plate an elongated slot for emitting a jet of steam, baflie means in said low pressure chamber extending from one of said chamber sides toward the other side thereof, said low pressure chamber having a downwardly directed centrally disposed opening in the rear portion thereof directed toward one of said sides and through which steam may flow downwardly into said low pressure chamber against the other of said sides to spread out uniformly in said chamber substantially at right angles to its direction of flow through said opening, said baffle means being disposed between said opening and said slot and restricting the flow of steam to said slot so that a uniform steam pressure exists in said low pressure chamber at the exit end of said slot.

WILLIAM THOMPSON HANNA. 

